After years of dealing with toxic air pollution seeping into their neighborhoods and homes, residents from all over Louisiana took a bus to Houston to tell EPA their toxic tales. Mary Williams of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice explains why they made the journey.

On April 27, 2013, thick, black smoke rose high above southwest Detroit from the flames at a nearby industrial facility. Three thousand residents were then ordered to leave their homes and evacuate the area. These residents are no stranger to poor air quality as their neighbors include a coal-fired power plant, a car factory, a water waste management plant, and the Marathon Ashland Petroleum oil refinery, one of 150 oil refineries in the country.

One sunny Wednesday in Wilmington, California, instead of spending the day at work or taking their kids to the beach, community members gathered to tell the Environmental Protection Agency what it is like living near large oil refineries.